General Education electives are very important to students’ learning as it gives them different

perspectives. General Education electives give students more information on areas such as economics,
diversity and inclusion, and different societal aspects. Students are then able to apply this learning to
their projects and careers in engineering or wherever else they will be going.

One general elective that I took was WGS 307 which was about the history of women in science
and engineering and the many obstacles they have faced when entering and working in male dominated
fields. This class gave very interesting perspectives on how women have navigated science and
engineering fields and it was very eye opening to hear how women of color have been treated as well. In
this class we also learned about unconscious bias and how that may affect decisions you make. From
this class, I feel I will be better able to contribute to my workplace’s diversity and inclusion objectives
and make my workplace a more inclusive and supportive working environment for anyone as well as any
other environment that I will be a part of. Engineering fields need many different perspectives in order
to produce the best possible solutions as the world is not made up of one singular type of person.

Another general elective I took was Hist 202 where we learned about the history of western
civilization from 1500 to present day. In this class you are introduced to social and cultural
developments, economic and political ideas and institutions, as well as historical issues in the western
world brought on by different changes. This class gives students a better understanding of how the
modern western world came to be and what historical issues we still struggle with. Having a more
historical perspective gives students a more well rounded view on modern day issues and better equip
them to help progress and heal these issues in any environment they are placed in and any engineering
project that may be affected.

The last general electives I took were Econ 101 and 102 where we learned about the principles
of micro and macroeconomics. In these classes we learned about the basics of the effects of supply and
demand on a singular market vs all/multiple markets. This information can be applied to many
engineering projects as there is funding involved in many. Students will also be able to analyze the effect
their product may have on markets or analyze the effects other products may have on their product’s
market to produce the best possible economic outcome.

Overall, General Education electives give students the opportunity to widen their knowledge
base and have a more well rounded education with multiple perspectives to draw from for their
engineering projects. It also gives them an opportunity to learn about and understand others who may
be different from them, so that everyone can feel welcomed and included in the engineering community
and multiple perspectives can be implemented into engineering projects for the best possible outcome
for all users.